It's hard to believe that December is knocking on the door. This year has gone by so fast! There are times I get caught up in life's stresses, and then I stop for a moment and see how quickly everything is passing. It's tough to live in the moment, but so necessary for the soul. This wild and precious thing that we have -- it's fleeting. It's wonderful.
I was very thankful this Thanksgiving for the love and closeness of family and friends. For people to share our food and our company. Yes, I was cooking like crazy, but was also able to sit back and enjoy the people around me, which was the spiritual renewal I needed.
Diabetes sat quietly in the background, thank goodness. It was tough to figure out all the carbs, especially when teenage boy-ness takes over in the presence of all that good food! Daniel's numbers stayed excellent all through the meal -- between 70 and 90 -- but were on the high side the next morning. All that high fat stuff kicking in, I suppose. We still haven't figured out that dual wave timing for high fat foods. I guess this will take years of practice!
Ah well, on to another week, and the crazy, jam-packed days of December. Speaking of high fat, it's time to gather the ingredients for cookies, toffee, and biscotti. Can I have a few more of these 5 day weekends?
Showing posts with label insulin pump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insulin pump. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
It's all about the numbers. And the grades.
The good news was that Daniel's A1c came down to 7.2, which means we're getting the hang of this pumping thing (after a year). The bad news was that we finally had one of those scares that the diabetes nurse warned us about -- high blood sugars plus ketones -- that comes from a pump mistake. Daniel woke up about 2 a.m. the other night with all the classic symptoms: a pounding headache, dry mouth, gotta pee, etc. His bg was about 470, and of course, he felt like crap. The pee stick showed large ketones. My husband had gotten up with him, and then woke me to check in and see if we should go to the ER.
I checked the good old diabetes manual for instructions. I think the people at Children's National Medical Center in DC give great take-home instructions for all their diabetes-related stuff. It is easy to follow, even at 2 a.m., and helped us get through the night without an ER trip.
There's really nothing you can do but keep checking blood sugar readings. Every 15 - 20 minutes, each time we checked, they were going down. I finally sent Daniel back to bed at 4 a.m. with a bg of 280, and told him I would wake him at 5:30 to check again. At that point he was back to normal.
Other than that blip, his numbers have been really great for some time now. Hope I'm not jinxing myself. But I'm happy with the insulin pump therapy. Now let's find a cure for this stinkin' disease!!!
On a totally unrelated subject, I started writing this blog tonight because I was mad, and I had to calm myself down. Writing about diabetes was a good distraction, and I think I'm pretty calm now. My youngest son Dominic takes Tae Kwon Do, and is a blue belt. He's taken classes at the same studio for several years now. Lately the studio has instituted a report card system. After every class, the child presents his report card for a grade on how he did in class.
Dominic recently wanted to quit Tae Kwon Do. It's in the evening, and he's been pretty tired, but we encouraged him to persevere. However, tonight I wanted to yank him out of that place. After he decided to NOT quit, he started giving his all. However, he is an 8 year old boy, and is subject to some moments of inattention. Tonight was NOT one of those nights. They were practicing their forms over and over. I noticed that at one point in the form, he kept turning the wrong direction. There were 2 teachers in the room, and 9 or 10 kids. One of the teachers went over the fact that some people were turning the wrong direction, but Dominic didn't get it. No one went up to him and corrected his form.
The teachers asked questions about what certain terms meant, and why you lifted your heel off the ground at one point, etc. etc. Dominic raised his hand and was called on a couple of times. He got the answers correct.
Then the teachers separated the blue belts from the rest of the class to do push ups, sit ups, and squats. There were 4 blue belts, including Dominic. One of them was asked to lead the push ups, and he kept fooling around, and they had to restart the push up count a couple of times. Then the teacher asked the kids to move to a different side of the room. Dominic did so by rolling across the floor. The teacher said to him, "Dominic!" That's all. Another kid crab-walked. The teacher said, "Can't you guys just walk?" Then they did their sit ups, and sat waiting for the other group to finish. They were talking to each other, but quietly. I motioned to Dominic to come talk to me, and I told him that when he was doing his form, he turned in the wrong direction at step three, and I was concerned that he would get that wrong when it came to testing time. He said, "Oh, okay!" And went back to sit and wait.
Then all the kids were called back to do their forms again. This time, Dominic turned in the correct direction.
It was almost the end of class. The owner of the studio came out and called out two of the kids -- the one who was messing around when he was supposed to do the push up count, and Dominic, telling them that they had to stop interrupting the class, pay attention, and quit fooling around. Dominic turned and looked at me with that WTF???? look -- because he had not done anything to cause problems! He was told that his testing paperwork was being held until he could learn to control himself. When it came time to get his report card, they gave him a C for the night.
In all the years he's been taking classes, when he would get the wiggles, or mess around in class, Dominic would get a lecture from me afterwards. I let him know that he needed to respect his teachers, to pay attention in class, and to do his best if he wanted to succeed. Tonight I saw that his form was solid, that he put energy into his punches and kicks. He didn't do a half-assed job, he was focused.
So I followed the teacher to the back room and asked why Dominic got a C. He said, "because he rolled across the floor." I told the teacher that I noticed that Dominic had worked hard all evening. He knew answers to the questions, his form has really improved. Did he not see that? The teacher said, "he rolled across the floor." Well I guess that negates everything else he did in the class. I told him that I respectfully disagreed with his opinion, and that one roll shouldn't take away from all his hard work. Mind you, this is the teacher who is the son of the studio's business manager. I have noticed, for a long time, that he has less patience with the kids than all the other teachers, and does not teach the forms, or kicks, or punches in a clear manner. Blah.
Then I went to the head of the studio, who basically agreed that Dominic has improved. But that he has to stop interrupting the class, and improve some more. That he understand that with his asthma that he can't always perform, but he can try to improve.
Okay -- my eyes were about to pop out of my head. Dominic does not have asthma. Who the hell was he talking about? I sit through all of these classes. Dominic does not interrupt the class. Again, who the hell was he talking about? I looked the head master in the eye when he said we all can improve, and said, "Yes, everyone can improve. EVERYONE." Including you, you idiot. And then he went on and on about kids in the after school program not working so hard, versus kids in the evening program really pushing themselves, and nothing he said made much sense. My kid IS in the evening program! He has been working his butt off. And he doesn't have asthma! It was weird, like he was talking about somebody else!
When we left the studio, I told Dominic how proud I was of his achievements. I told him that they didn't see his effort, but that I did, and that he shouldn't hang his head. I will not send him back to a place where they put him down in front of the whole class without justification. Yeah, that's a great way to get kids to want to achieve. The good old "make them feel like shit" method. And I'm paying for this? Not anymore.
I checked the good old diabetes manual for instructions. I think the people at Children's National Medical Center in DC give great take-home instructions for all their diabetes-related stuff. It is easy to follow, even at 2 a.m., and helped us get through the night without an ER trip.
There's really nothing you can do but keep checking blood sugar readings. Every 15 - 20 minutes, each time we checked, they were going down. I finally sent Daniel back to bed at 4 a.m. with a bg of 280, and told him I would wake him at 5:30 to check again. At that point he was back to normal.
Other than that blip, his numbers have been really great for some time now. Hope I'm not jinxing myself. But I'm happy with the insulin pump therapy. Now let's find a cure for this stinkin' disease!!!
On a totally unrelated subject, I started writing this blog tonight because I was mad, and I had to calm myself down. Writing about diabetes was a good distraction, and I think I'm pretty calm now. My youngest son Dominic takes Tae Kwon Do, and is a blue belt. He's taken classes at the same studio for several years now. Lately the studio has instituted a report card system. After every class, the child presents his report card for a grade on how he did in class.
Dominic recently wanted to quit Tae Kwon Do. It's in the evening, and he's been pretty tired, but we encouraged him to persevere. However, tonight I wanted to yank him out of that place. After he decided to NOT quit, he started giving his all. However, he is an 8 year old boy, and is subject to some moments of inattention. Tonight was NOT one of those nights. They were practicing their forms over and over. I noticed that at one point in the form, he kept turning the wrong direction. There were 2 teachers in the room, and 9 or 10 kids. One of the teachers went over the fact that some people were turning the wrong direction, but Dominic didn't get it. No one went up to him and corrected his form.
The teachers asked questions about what certain terms meant, and why you lifted your heel off the ground at one point, etc. etc. Dominic raised his hand and was called on a couple of times. He got the answers correct.
Then the teachers separated the blue belts from the rest of the class to do push ups, sit ups, and squats. There were 4 blue belts, including Dominic. One of them was asked to lead the push ups, and he kept fooling around, and they had to restart the push up count a couple of times. Then the teacher asked the kids to move to a different side of the room. Dominic did so by rolling across the floor. The teacher said to him, "Dominic!" That's all. Another kid crab-walked. The teacher said, "Can't you guys just walk?" Then they did their sit ups, and sat waiting for the other group to finish. They were talking to each other, but quietly. I motioned to Dominic to come talk to me, and I told him that when he was doing his form, he turned in the wrong direction at step three, and I was concerned that he would get that wrong when it came to testing time. He said, "Oh, okay!" And went back to sit and wait.
Then all the kids were called back to do their forms again. This time, Dominic turned in the correct direction.
It was almost the end of class. The owner of the studio came out and called out two of the kids -- the one who was messing around when he was supposed to do the push up count, and Dominic, telling them that they had to stop interrupting the class, pay attention, and quit fooling around. Dominic turned and looked at me with that WTF???? look -- because he had not done anything to cause problems! He was told that his testing paperwork was being held until he could learn to control himself. When it came time to get his report card, they gave him a C for the night.
In all the years he's been taking classes, when he would get the wiggles, or mess around in class, Dominic would get a lecture from me afterwards. I let him know that he needed to respect his teachers, to pay attention in class, and to do his best if he wanted to succeed. Tonight I saw that his form was solid, that he put energy into his punches and kicks. He didn't do a half-assed job, he was focused.
So I followed the teacher to the back room and asked why Dominic got a C. He said, "because he rolled across the floor." I told the teacher that I noticed that Dominic had worked hard all evening. He knew answers to the questions, his form has really improved. Did he not see that? The teacher said, "he rolled across the floor." Well I guess that negates everything else he did in the class. I told him that I respectfully disagreed with his opinion, and that one roll shouldn't take away from all his hard work. Mind you, this is the teacher who is the son of the studio's business manager. I have noticed, for a long time, that he has less patience with the kids than all the other teachers, and does not teach the forms, or kicks, or punches in a clear manner. Blah.
Then I went to the head of the studio, who basically agreed that Dominic has improved. But that he has to stop interrupting the class, and improve some more. That he understand that with his asthma that he can't always perform, but he can try to improve.
Okay -- my eyes were about to pop out of my head. Dominic does not have asthma. Who the hell was he talking about? I sit through all of these classes. Dominic does not interrupt the class. Again, who the hell was he talking about? I looked the head master in the eye when he said we all can improve, and said, "Yes, everyone can improve. EVERYONE." Including you, you idiot. And then he went on and on about kids in the after school program not working so hard, versus kids in the evening program really pushing themselves, and nothing he said made much sense. My kid IS in the evening program! He has been working his butt off. And he doesn't have asthma! It was weird, like he was talking about somebody else!
When we left the studio, I told Dominic how proud I was of his achievements. I told him that they didn't see his effort, but that I did, and that he shouldn't hang his head. I will not send him back to a place where they put him down in front of the whole class without justification. Yeah, that's a great way to get kids to want to achieve. The good old "make them feel like shit" method. And I'm paying for this? Not anymore.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Bubbles and Knots
It's been just about a year since Daniel started on the insulin pump. He's been so happy with the pump and has much better control over his blood sugar than he had using the Novolog/Lantus therapy. Of course there are issues unique to pumping, including bubbles & knots (in the tubing), and the occasional surprise rrrrrrrrip out when tubing catches on something. Daniel had all three of these things occur this week, leading to highs and hair removal (ouch! :-) ) I wonder if anyone else finds that as they get to the end of an insulin bottle, there is more of a tendency for bubbles to show up in the tubing?
Daniel woke up with a 350 bg this morning, and a knot tied in his tube. Maybe he is doing macrame in his sleep. But it's never a fun morning when his blood sugar is so high. I hope it went down in time for him to concentrate on today's tests.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next A1C check in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we'll keep on pumping...
Daniel woke up with a 350 bg this morning, and a knot tied in his tube. Maybe he is doing macrame in his sleep. But it's never a fun morning when his blood sugar is so high. I hope it went down in time for him to concentrate on today's tests.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next A1C check in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we'll keep on pumping...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
New Insulin Pump
I saw the news on Diabetes Daily about the new insulin pump coming on the market next year from a company called Medingo. The pump is the Solo, and it is a tubing-free, tiny pump. You can detach from it when you need to. The web site is here.
If you live in the US, the company offers you the option of ordering a free demo kit. I put my order in today, and will let you know how responsive the company is and what we think of the demo.
It looks nice! But we've been fooled by products that look nice before (Pelikan Sun). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one.
If you live in the US, the company offers you the option of ordering a free demo kit. I put my order in today, and will let you know how responsive the company is and what we think of the demo.
It looks nice! But we've been fooled by products that look nice before (Pelikan Sun). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
RRRRIIIIppppppp... OUCH!
Pump tubing and kitchen cabinet handles. Need I say more?
Daniel often walks around with his pump tubing dangling out of his pockets. Parents yell, "TUBING!" Daniel rolls eyes. Halfheartedly stuffs the tubing back in his pocket. A couple of times at school kids have tried yanking it, thinking the tubing is iPod headphones. More often, however, the kitchen cabinet handles grab it and pull HARD.
Daniel thinks we should replace the cabinet handles, or just get rid of them. I told him I was going to get him one of those pump bands that go around the belly so he can zip the tubing into that (again, I get the teenage eye-roll). Actually, what I'm going to do is order shorter tubing so that when he has the pump attached to his stomach or hips, he won't have so much dangling out.
I wish there was a way to adjust it! Like if the pumps had a cleat on the side to wrap the extra cord around...
Daniel often walks around with his pump tubing dangling out of his pockets. Parents yell, "TUBING!" Daniel rolls eyes. Halfheartedly stuffs the tubing back in his pocket. A couple of times at school kids have tried yanking it, thinking the tubing is iPod headphones. More often, however, the kitchen cabinet handles grab it and pull HARD.
Daniel thinks we should replace the cabinet handles, or just get rid of them. I told him I was going to get him one of those pump bands that go around the belly so he can zip the tubing into that (again, I get the teenage eye-roll). Actually, what I'm going to do is order shorter tubing so that when he has the pump attached to his stomach or hips, he won't have so much dangling out.
I wish there was a way to adjust it! Like if the pumps had a cleat on the side to wrap the extra cord around...
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sounds of Silence
I'm home for the 2nd day with a sick child. Dominic has had a fever and upset stomach, and hasn't eaten in 2 days, except for 1 1/4 banana. Oh, and a few sips of ginger ale and glasses of water. He's exhausted. It crossed my mind that I should test his blood sugar, but he's not going to the bathroom all the time or thirsty ALL the time. But he is thirsty. But tummy bugs can dehydrate you. And he did just catch this bug from me, and I was exhausted & thirsty, too. I will try to quiet the worry monkey part of my brain. Listen to the silence of this house as he is napping, enjoy the moments of calm that have been few and far between.
I'm amazed that I've made it through the first year of teaching. It was both more difficult and more delightful than I expected. I am so happy to have the support of a wonderful team of educators & mentors. I also think that with this first year behind me, I'll have a supply of strategies in my pocket that I can turn to in coming years, when I'm looking for help. That supply will continue to grow as my experience grows.
Daniel has an endo visit this week, and I'm hoping his A1c will be better than the last time. His numbers have been pretty good, actually, with the exception of a spike last week when he caught this bug that's going through our family. I also want to talk to the endo about pump breaks, because we will be going to the beach a few times and we have to figure out how to deal with that. I don't think going to the pool will be a problem. Daniel can unhook from the pump for a while, swim, and check back every so often. I've read up on that enough that I think we can work that out. But it doesn't seem to be a good idea to be connected to the pump if we know we're going to spend a whole day at the beach, where he tends to be in the water for long periods of time... or digging around in the sand.
We also have to make sure we're up to speed about changing time zones, as we'll be travelling this summer. Lots to plan for, but all very exciting and fun.
The warm summer-like day is calling, but I can't leave the house. While Dominic was awake, I watered the garden, and took our potato experiments out of their small pots and put them into the ground. I don't know if we'll actually get potatoes, or if the squirrels/deer/bunnies will get to them first, but it's fun to try. The potatoes, one tomato plant, a couple of basil, parsley, thyme, chocolate mint, and rosemary - that's the extent of my summer garden. As it is, I could spend all my time weeding, and I don't want to do that.
Life's too short to weed.
I'm amazed that I've made it through the first year of teaching. It was both more difficult and more delightful than I expected. I am so happy to have the support of a wonderful team of educators & mentors. I also think that with this first year behind me, I'll have a supply of strategies in my pocket that I can turn to in coming years, when I'm looking for help. That supply will continue to grow as my experience grows.
Daniel has an endo visit this week, and I'm hoping his A1c will be better than the last time. His numbers have been pretty good, actually, with the exception of a spike last week when he caught this bug that's going through our family. I also want to talk to the endo about pump breaks, because we will be going to the beach a few times and we have to figure out how to deal with that. I don't think going to the pool will be a problem. Daniel can unhook from the pump for a while, swim, and check back every so often. I've read up on that enough that I think we can work that out. But it doesn't seem to be a good idea to be connected to the pump if we know we're going to spend a whole day at the beach, where he tends to be in the water for long periods of time... or digging around in the sand.
We also have to make sure we're up to speed about changing time zones, as we'll be travelling this summer. Lots to plan for, but all very exciting and fun.
The warm summer-like day is calling, but I can't leave the house. While Dominic was awake, I watered the garden, and took our potato experiments out of their small pots and put them into the ground. I don't know if we'll actually get potatoes, or if the squirrels/deer/bunnies will get to them first, but it's fun to try. The potatoes, one tomato plant, a couple of basil, parsley, thyme, chocolate mint, and rosemary - that's the extent of my summer garden. As it is, I could spend all my time weeding, and I don't want to do that.
Life's too short to weed.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Pain in the Butt
Half the time Daniel does a site change, he does it on his own. Half the time I help him. We know how important it is to rotate sites so he doesn't get a goose egg under the skin and have trouble absorbing insulin. Per our diabetes nurse, we try to do about 6 different spots in one area, like the right side of the stomach, then do 6 more in another area, like the left side of the stomach, and then move on to the back of the arm, the butt, the side, etc. Daniel hates doing his thighs, so we've stayed away from that area. Too bad, because that would be an easy access for him.
It would be helpful for him to have arm extensions and a head that twisted all the way around, like an owl, to reach some of his sites on his backside. I don't know how people do it who don't have moms or partners around to help. I guess you get resourceful. Daniel's not there yet. So he directs me to put it there... no, *there*... and have the attachment for the tubing pointing kind of sideways... a little more... and I don't always get it right. Today he was complaining about his pain in the butt because I got the angle wrong yesterday.
I could say something about teenagers being a pain in the butt. Quite often they are! But then again, I'm not the one with a cannula sticking out of my ass, so I'll shut up and try for a better angle next time.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Follow Up
Daniel had his pump follow up visit today. We met with our pump nurse, and everything went well (except that his A1c number has gone missing, but the nurse is going to chase after it).
It's nice to hear that, according to the nurse, everything looks normal and that it appears that we've done everything right over the past month. Knots and air bubbles in the tubing aside, pumping has gone fairly smoothly. There were a couple of 3 a.m. moments when Daniel's number was high and we were trying to figure out why. I have to say, at 3 a.m. when Daniel has a high-blood sugar brain and I'm clunking along on no sleep, it's very difficult to think logically. When Daniel gets frustrated at the stupid pump doing stupid things (no human error, of course not) I have to remind him that for however long in his life he has to wear this pump, he has to expect that there will be issues. There will be finger flubbing and mechanical issues and forgetfulness, and plastic breaking and sites ripping out and other things that we haven't even thought of. It's the nature of the beast. But he's certainly happier with the pump than he was with shots, so we're making the most of it.
We also got other good news this week -- even with all those weeks of waking up at 3 a.m., Daniel came home with a great report card (as did his siblings!). Woo hoo!
Next we have to look into Driver's Ed school. I can't believe my baby's almost old enough to drive. I can't possibly be that old.
If anyone has any suggestions for diabetes camp within a few hours of Washington, DC, let me know. I think we're going to look into them for this summer.
It's nice to hear that, according to the nurse, everything looks normal and that it appears that we've done everything right over the past month. Knots and air bubbles in the tubing aside, pumping has gone fairly smoothly. There were a couple of 3 a.m. moments when Daniel's number was high and we were trying to figure out why. I have to say, at 3 a.m. when Daniel has a high-blood sugar brain and I'm clunking along on no sleep, it's very difficult to think logically. When Daniel gets frustrated at the stupid pump doing stupid things (no human error, of course not) I have to remind him that for however long in his life he has to wear this pump, he has to expect that there will be issues. There will be finger flubbing and mechanical issues and forgetfulness, and plastic breaking and sites ripping out and other things that we haven't even thought of. It's the nature of the beast. But he's certainly happier with the pump than he was with shots, so we're making the most of it.
We also got other good news this week -- even with all those weeks of waking up at 3 a.m., Daniel came home with a great report card (as did his siblings!). Woo hoo!
Next we have to look into Driver's Ed school. I can't believe my baby's almost old enough to drive. I can't possibly be that old.
If anyone has any suggestions for diabetes camp within a few hours of Washington, DC, let me know. I think we're going to look into them for this summer.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Saline Start
Daniel started pumping saline today. We had a great session with the Medtronic nurse rep, Tonya. At the end of a very full couple of hours, I felt a little more comfortable with the pump. Tonya wanted to know what questions we had, but it seems now like the questions will come once we start using this thing.
We were sent Quickserts instead of Sil-serts (I don't even know if I'm calling them the right things, there are so many pump-related words floating in my brain right now). Daniel is pretty slim & wants to use the angled inserts. Medtronic is doing the switch for us. So far they have been very helpful on the phone & in person.
At this point I am stuck thinking about clothes. Daniel wants to keep the pump in a pocket, but I'm worried about tubing sticking out and getting caught on something. But then again, I'm not wearing the thing, he is. He has to decide what is comfortable. I'm going to have to break out the sewing machine and put pockets into pajamas. I'll probably have to deepen some of the pockets on his pants. Maybe put a little hole at the top of the pocket to slide the tube through so it doesn't have to stick out anywhere. Or... what about using one of those sporty iPod armbands? Do they fit insulin pumps? I'm going to have to do some research.
By the way, can pumping saline make you high? Wacky numbers tonight. Well, Daniel *did* have pizza.
Today we had a day off of school because of the Yom Kippur holiday. I had a long list of things to do today and have taken care of all but 2. Those 2 will have to wait. I'm tired. When will a day off be just a day off? Whew! Looking forward to the weekend.
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